I love country, especially traditional country and I am far from being alone. Country music is more than a category of songs...country music is a history of the common man and woman who build the farms and the ranches; who became beer slingers and factory workers; that dug the ditches and cut the lumber--country music is about the bootlegger and country preachers, about broken romances and cheatin' hearts and yes, about mom, home and apple pie too.
I love country and the memories it give me and I hope so do you.
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Country Music: A History of Americana

When I was a young boy growing up we had three sources of music in my grandmother’s house where I was mostly raised. The radio, a record player and my Aunt Doris (called Aunt Dodo) who had one of the most memorable and beautiful country singing voices I ever heard. Neighbors were always dropping by just to listen in our neighborhood on South Wasatch Street in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (When I was a kid the entire town was only around 40,000 plus people and incidentally we could see Pikes Peak right out our kitchen window).

Anyway, being raised on country music I have never lost my enthusiasm or love for it. With the exception of Jazz, it is the only music in the world that is purely Americana; mostly downhome Americana in its modern origins but all-American nevertheless,

I believe that I was fortunate being born during the hay day of radio and before television. My family was very poor back then and so bringing home a record or two was a real treat and everyone would gather around the record player to listen to singing stars like Roy Acuff Earnest Tubb and Gene AutryFemale country stars did not really emerge commercially until the very early 1950s but women country singers were plentiful across the country and entertained at home just as my Aunt Dodo did when I was a kid. Sometimes in winter we’d all gather around the old coal stove in the living room and sing together although mostly we just listened to Aunt Dodo because, as said, she was the one with the voice. I will never forget those family gatherings though as there was such a connectedness to the family ties we had. And, yes, there’d nearly always be a hymn sung too. I can still hear my aunt singing, “In the Garden” which would be rekindled by Merle Haggard in modern times. The lyrics are simple and heartwarming:

I come to the garden alonewhile the dew is still on the rosesAnd the voice I hear falling on my earThe son of God discloses.

And he walks with me and he talks with meAnd he tells me I am his ownAnd the joy we share as we tarry thereNone other has ever known.

Country music was part of our lives back then and while we would also listen to pop tunes every now and then, it was country music that stayed at the top of our menu of entertainment.

My intent for this two part series is to first unfold the major highlights of the history of country and secondly to give the reader some of the best memories from Country in the song titles and lyrics that have touched so many hearts.

The Earliest History

America has always been called the “melding pot” of the world and sure enough it has always attracted peoples from many places and nations to the land. A difficulty way back in the earliest days was that there was a language barrier between people—most people from England and Greater Britain like the Irish and Scottish folk could not understand those from Sweden, Germany or other places such as Poland or Greece of Italy. As a result when riding along the old trials, travelers would meet along the way and do their best to show friendliness through sign. Quite often for company and safely such men would camp together and while they couldn’t carry on a conversation the language of music became a major communication between them. That is they would sing and many could play an instrument and so they would sit together and share songs from their own heritages.

In many instances they would learn each other’s tunes and write their own lyrics to them. This was how American country music was rooted. This very same thing would happen between the travelers of the earliest wagon trains. As long as weather permitted the families traveling west would share their music and although they might speak a number of languages, the language of music created great friendships and offered a lot of good times during the harsh conditions of frontier travel.

When people began reaching the far west Mexican music began having a great influence on American music—it was, after all, both romantic and adventurous the very nature of the earliest frontiering people. There is probably not a better example of this that the song “El Rancho Grande” recorded by Gene Autry in 1940.

I'd love to roam out yonder, Out where the buffalo wander...(Ay Ay Ay Ay)Free as the eagle flyin’,I'm ropin' and a-tyin', I'm ropin' and a tyin'...Yippee my ranch and my cattle,Far from the great city's rattle,You'll be a big herd to battle,For I just love herdin' cattle.

Once the feeling of Mexican music permeated “old trail songs” the birth of America’s unique music began to slowly unfold to what would eventually be named, Country Western; a style that somehow held the soul or heartbeat of black gospel, Irish folk and Mexican romance. It cannot be described really as anything other than pure Americana but it would also adopt back hill music also known as Mountain Music and later, Bluegrass, in forming its unique style and sounds. Here’s a photo of Wade Mainer one of the best known players of “Mountain” there is. As for Blue Grass, typically played with guitar, banjo, mandolin and upright base would soon enough incorporate the fiddle as a necessary ingredient of Country Western’s contribution to the back hill music beloved by so many people. Here’s a photo of the Bluegrass Boys of the 1940s.

Speaking of blue grass and old mountain music, when we would sit around listening to my aunt Dodo sing my Uncle Ray would often play the saw. If you don’t know what that is, here an interesting ad (from the 40s or 50s perhaps?) offering to teach you how to play. My uncle could really make the saw we had around the house sing and sometimes, when he would play, my Aunt would pick up her mouth harp and we’d have a regular grand old opry right in the center of my grandma’s living room.

Country music actually had its adolescence in living rooms, front porches and back yard get-togethers. What mostly commercialized country western was radio so we’ll talk about that next.

Country and Radio

Country western as genre was actually new when radio was in its infancy as a national entertainment media. Commercial radio as we know it today began in 1920, the birth of electronic media.

Country music first began to be popularized from a Chicago radio station WLS. WLS stood for World’s Largest Store and was owned by Sears Roebuck. The show was called National Barn Dance but in 1925 the Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting from Memphis which would soon enough become known as America’s “country music capital.” The stations call letters were WSM and was broadcast from the fifth floor of the National Life & Accident Insurance Company who wanted to advertise insurance policies. WSM stood for “We Shield the World.”

By the time the 1930s began unfolding the station boasted 50,000 watts and began presenting the “opry” every Saturday night to 30 states becoming national in 1939 (the year of my birth) on NBC Radio. One of the biggest, most beloved singing starts of the ‘40s was Earnest tubb. In 1940 he had recorded, “I’ll Get Along Somehow” which, as with many of his songs, was a good old tear-in-your-beer number:

Many months have come and gone since you called me on the phoneTo tell me that we were throughYou thought it'd break my heart but I fooled you from the startCause I never did trust you

Well you thought you were mighty wise to run around with other guysAnd still saying you were mineWhile you had one or two, I had a dozen more than you, so you got the fooling that time

Oh let it rain and let it snow, I don't care oh no no no, I'll never worry nowYou're the one that wasn't fair, wasn't in you to play square, I'll get along somehow

So you keep going your way, I'll keep traveling mineBut at the end you'll need a friend, you'll be the one to sit and pine

So let it rain and let it snow, I don't care oh no no no, I'll get along somehow

You left me and you went awayYou said that you'd be back and just that dayYou've broken your promise and you left me here aloneI don't know why you did dear, but I do know that you're gone

I'm walking the floor over youI can't sleep a wink that is trueI'm hoping and I'm praying as my heart breaks right in twoWalking the floor over you…

As a great number of Americans loved country music there was, at the same time, a great many who rejected it as (ignorant) hillbilly music. And, the truth is that the greatest appeal to the music was that it spoke directly to common, working folk—the perfect metaphor is to call it, “down to earth music” as Country was far more about heart than mind; about experience more than thought.

Indeed the popular style of Earnest Tubb and so many others was plain old Honkey Tonk and so that will be our next subject.

Honkey Tonk

No one knows the origin of the term “honky tonk” but what is known is that the name probably evolved out of the old west going back to the time of the Oklahoma and Texas Territories offering dancing girls, booze and gambling; bawdy places catering mostly to men off the trails or nearby ranches ready for a fight or fun and sometimes both.

After the frontiers closed there was little distinction between honky tonks and saloons in the old cow towns of places like Nebraska, Kansas and Montana. Working class bars were also referred to as honky tonks from the Deep South to the Southwest which generally offered a piano player or small band, a dance floor and ladies of the night.

It is difficult to say when or even how honky tonk music evolved but I believe it is safe to say that it belonged mostly to the poor and hard-working class who would sing of their troubles and hardships in a nasal/twang as performed by great country stars like Tubb Hank Williams Faron Young and Hank Thompson

The term Honky Tonk, regardless of its history came to mean any working person’s bar with even a small dance floor, a small band or just a juke box. I remember being in Wyoming mining camps when I was a kid and having neighbors coming over, banging on the front door hollering out to my parents: Hey, it’s Saturday night, let’s go Honky Tonkin’. So off the adults would go to the local bars (honky tonks) in Rock Springs to get drunk, dance and often fight. (Those coal miners and their families were, in a term, the salt of the earth—hard working, hard playing family people).

Hank Williams was a “honky tonker” himself was and remains one of country music’s most beloved legends—Hank lived hard and died young and left a lot of beautiful memories. Here’s a sampling of his songs:

I tried so hard my dear to show that you’re my every dream.Yet you’re afraid each thing I do is just some evil schemeA memory from your lonesome past keeps us so far apartWhy can’t I free your doubtful mind and melt your cold, cold heart

Another love before my time made your heart sad and blueAnd so my heart is paying now for things I didn’t doIn anger unkind words are said that make the teardrops startWhy can’t I free your doubtful mind, and melt your cold, cold heart…

And, Your Cheatin’ Heart

Your cheatin' heart will make you weepYou'll cry and cry and try to sleepBut sleep won't come the whole night throughYour cheatin' heart will tell on you

When tears come down like falling rainYou'll toss around and call my nameYou're gonna walk that floor the way that I doYour cheatin' heart will tell on you

These three gigantic hits were country western classics—hot, hot sellers of records, played constantly on juke boxes and absolute radio hits; the honky tonk sound of Hank Williams and Hank himself symbolizes the heart and soul of country. He died before he was 31 years old but became known as the most important country performer of all time; a honky tonk singer who reached out and touched the world.

Great Country the ‘40s

Space does not permit covering all the great country songs of the ‘40s but here is a great sampling of the most popular:

EL PASO Marty Robbins

Out in the West Texas town of El PasoI fell in love with a Mexican girlNight time would find me in Rosa's cantinaMusic would play and Feleena would whirl

Blacker than night where the eyes of FeleenaWicked and evil while casting a spellMy love was deep for this Mexican maidenI was in love, but in vain I could tell

One night a wild young cowboy came inWild as the West Texas windDashing and daring, a drink he was sharingWith wicked Feleena, the girl that I loved

So in angerI challenged his right for the love of this maidenDown went his hand for the gun that he woreMy challenge was answered in less than a heartbeatThe handsome young stranger lay dead on the floor

Just for a momentI stood there in silenceShocked by the foul evil deed I had doneMany thoughts raced through my mind as I stood thereI had but one chance and that was to run

Out through the back door of Rosa's I ranOut where the horses were tiedI caught a good oneIt looked like it could runUp on its back and away I did ride

I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry—Hank Williams

Hear the lonesome whippoorwillHe sounds too blue to flyThe midnight train is whining lowI’m so lonesome I could cry

I’ve never seen a night so longWhen time goes crawling byThe moon just went behind a cloudTo hide its face and cry

Did you ever see a robin weepWhen leaves begin to dieThat means he's lost the will to liveI’m so lonesome I could cry…

San Antonio Rose—Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys

Deep within my heart lies a melodyA song of old San AntoneWhere in dreams I live with a memoryBeneath the stars all alone

It was there I found beside the AlamoEnchantment strange as the blue up aboveA moonlit path that only she would knowStill hears my broken song of love

Moon in all your splendor knows only my heartCall back my Rose, Rose of San AntoneLips so sweet and tender like petals fallin' apartSpeak once again of my love, my own

Broken song, empty words I knowStill live in my heart all aloneAnd that moonlit pass beside the AlamoAnd Rose, my Rose of San Antone

Tennessee Waltz—Pee Wee King

I was dancin' with my darlin'To the Tennessee WaltzWhen an old friend I happened to seeI introduced him to my loved one,And while they were dancing,My friend stole my sweetheart from me

I remember the night,And the Tennessee WaltzOnly you know how much I have lostYes, I lost my little darlin'The night they were playingThe beautiful Tennessee Waltz

I was dancin' with my darlin'To the Tennessee WaltzWhen an old friend I happened to seeI introduced him to my loved one,And while they were dancing,My friend stole my sweetheart from me…

The Cattle Call—Eddie Arnold

The cattle are prowlin', The coyotes are howlin' Way out where the doggies roam Where spurs are a jinglin' And the cowboy is singing His lonesome cattle call (yodeling)

He rides in the sun 'Tll his days’ work is done And he rounds up the cattle each fall (yodeling) Singing his cattle call

The early 1950s maintained country traditional sounds—an extremely popular number by Hank Thompson spent 15 weeks as Number 1 on the Billboard country charts.

Wild Side of Life—Hank Thompson

You wouldn't read my letter if I wrote you

You asked me not to call you on the phone

But there's something I'm wanting to tell you

So I wrote it in the words of this songI didn't know God made honky tonk angels

I might have known you'd never make a wife

You gave up the only one that ever loved you

And went back to the wild side of life

The above song inspired a big hit in answer:

It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels—Kitty Wells

As I sit here tonight, the jukebox playing'The tune about the wild side of lifeAs I listen to the words you are saying'It brings memories when I was a trustin' wife

It wasn't God who made honky tonk angelsAs you said in the words of your songToo many times married men think they're still singleThat has caused many a good girl to go wrong

It's a shame that all the blame is on us womenIt's not true that only you men feel the sameFrom the start most every heart that's ever brokenWas because there always was a man to blame…

Country continued forward during the modernizing ‘50s and has continued into the new millennium. Here’s a sampling of Country Western’s greatest hits and stars that touched our hearts and minds over the decades:

Coal Miner’s Daughter—Loretta Lynn

Well I was born a coal miner's daughter in a cabin on a hill in Butcher HollerWe were poor but we had love that's the one thing that daddy made sure ofHe'd shovel coal to make a poor man's dollarMy daddy worked all night in the Van leer coal mine all day long in the field hoein' cornMommy rocked the baby at night and read the Bible by the coal oil lightAnd everything would start all over come break of mornDaddy loved and raised eight kids on a miner's payMommy scrubbed our clothes on a washboard everydayWhy I've seen her fingers bleed to complain there was no needShe smiled in mommy’s understanding wayIn the summertime we didn't have shoes to wearBut in the wintertime we'd all get a brand new pairFrom a mail order catalog money made from selling a hogDaddy always managed to get the money somewhereYeah I'm proud to be a coal miner's daughterI remember well the well where I drew waterThe work we done was hard at night we'd sleep cause we were tiredI never thought of leavin Butcher HollerBut lots of things have changed since the way back thenAnd it's so good to be back home againNot much left but the floor nothing lives there anymoreJust the memories of a coal miner's daughter

A Boy Named Sue—Johnny Cash

Well my daddy left home when I was three And he didn't leave much to ma and me Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze. Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid But the meanest thing that he ever did Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."

Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk, It seems I had to fight my whole life through. Some gal would giggle and I'd get red And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head, I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean, My fist got hard and my wits got keen, I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame. But I made a vow to the moon and stars That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars And kill that man who gave me that awful name.

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July And I just hit town and my throat was dry, I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew. At an old saloon on a street of mud, There at a table, dealing stud, Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue…"

Crazy—Patsy Cline

Crazy, I'm crazy for feeling so lonelyI'm crazy, crazy for feeling so blueI knew you'd love me as long as you wantedAnd then someday you'd leave me for somebody newWorry, why do I let myself worry?Wondering what in the world did I do?Crazy for thinking that my love could hold youI'm crazy for trying and crazy for cryingAnd I'm crazy for loving youCrazy for thinking that my love could hold youI'm crazy for trying and crazy for cryingAnd I'm crazy for loving you.

Where Do I put Her Memory—Charlie Pride

I've taken down all of her picturesI've cleaned out all of her drawersI've painted over the scratchesFrom all of our little wars

I've put away every giftThat she ever gave to meNow everything is in its placeExcept for her memory

And where do I put her memoryWhen it haunts me night and dayI can't hide it in the closetAnd Lord, I can't throw it away

And where do I put her memoryWhen it's always in my mindI can't chase it, erase it, I just have to face itIt's gonna be there a long, long time…

From a Mansion to a Honky Tonk—Tom T. Hall

How could anyone who said they'd help me want to hurt me the way you didIt was just like Superwoman slapping some poor crying kidIt's just one slip and a stumble Lord it's sure not very farFrom a big three-story mansion to a nine by twelve foot barFrom a mansion to a honky-tonk Lord it's closer than I thoughtFrom a mansion to a honky-tonk thanks for trying hey thanks a lot

I hate to say it hmm but I don't miss it Castle's cold and money's chillOur love died of pure starvation it's not something that you killI just wonder does the world know what a short trip it really isFrom a bedroom to a barroom and an honest way to liveFrom a mansion to a honky-tonk...

Much Too Young—Garth Brooks

This old highway's getting longerSeems there ain't no end in sightTo sleep would be best, but I just can't afford to restI've got to ride in Denver tomorrow night

I called the house but no one answeredFor the last two weeks no one's been homeI guess she's through with me, to tell the truth I just can't seeWhat's kept the woman holding on this long

And the white line's getting longer and the saddle's getting coldI'm much too young to feel this damn oldAll my cards are on the table with no ace left in the holeI'm much too young to feel this damn old

Love’s Gonna Make It Alright—George Strait

Girl you've had one of those daysSeems like they've been goin' aroundYou're a long way from bein' where you wanna be

When the world isn't goin' your wayWhatever bad luck is gettin' you downHoney, I'll be right here for youWith open arms, you can run to me

You ought to go north somebody told us cause the air is filled with gold dustAnd fortune falls like snowflakes in your handsNow I don`t recall you said it but we`d lived so long on creditAnd so we headed out to find our promised land

Just poor Appalachian farm folks with nothing more than high hopesWe hitched our station wagon to a starBut our dreams all fell in on us cause there was no land of promiseAnd it`s a struggle keepin` sight of who you are

Oh and these northern nights are dreary and my southern heart is wearyI wonder how the old folks are back homeBut I`ll keep leanin` on sweet Jesus I know he`ll love and guide and lead usAppalachian memories keep me strong

You know I`ve been thinking a whole lot lately about what`s been and what awaits meIt takes all I`ve got to give what life demandsYou go insane if you give into it life`s a mill and I`ve been through it…

I’m just thankful I’m creative with my hands…

On The Road Again—Willie Nelson

On the road again -Just can't wait to get on the road again.The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can't wait to get on the road again.On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been.Seein' things that I may never see again

And I can't wait to get on the road again.On the road again -Like a band of gypsies we go down the highwayWe're the best of friends.Insisting that the world keep turning our way

And our wayis on the road again.Just can't wait to get on the road again.The life I love is makin' music with my friends

And I can't wait to get on the road again.On the road again…

There are just far too many great voices and songs to cover in any one article but if you’re a country fan as I am, you’ll have your own list and memories. My memories begin in a poor little house across from the rail road tracks—my grandmother’s where the family would often spend evenings listening to my aunt sing or listening to records or the radio. That was a long time ago but I carried those old songs with me all along my way. And I know you’ve taken a whole lot of old songs along your path too!

SUMMARY

When it comes to country western music I am pretty much a purest—in a term, I do not fancy crossover or some of the music performed today in the guises of country. I am fully aware that not everyone agrees with me on the issue but there are those who do. I suppose when it comes down to it, I’m a (devoted) honky tonk fan but that was my world growing up.

What do I believe country western should be—I think it should take you down dirt roads and across vast fields; it ought to remind us of what life “feels like.” I think it should tell the story of calloused hands and hard winters; of kitchen laughter and holiday cheer. I believe it should talk about cheating hearts and broken dreams; of lost jobs and Saturday night drunks but also about lasting love and family life. I think country western ought to be about the wounds in life we all endure from time to time and, at the same time, getting passed the obstacles that so often get in our way. I think it should remind us of being with nature; of pine covered slopes, snow covered peaks; of rivers, stream and tumbleweeds:

SEE THEM TUMBLING DOWNPLEDGING THEIR LOVE TO THE GROUNDLONELY BUT FREE AS THEY'RE FOUNDDRIFTING ALONG WITH THE TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS

CARES OF THE PAST ARE BEHINDNO WHERE TO GO BUT I'LL FINDJUST WHERE THE TRAIL WILL WINDDRIFTING ALONG WITH THE TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS

I KNOW WHEN NIGHT HAS GONETHAT A KNEW WORLD BEGINS AT DAWN

I'LL KEEP ROLLING ALONGDEEP IN MY HEART IS A SONGHERE ON THE RANGE I BELONGDRIFTING ALONG WITH THE TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more about Willie Nelson